Nicholas Kulish of the New York Times

Do you ever wonder about people who’ve made your dream a reality?
A few days ago, I met Nicholas Kulish, the Berlin correspondent to the NYTimes. In short, this man has (one of ) my dream jobs. 2am calls, travel - in danger and in safety -...to some, this may seem dreadful. For me, it’s wonder...it’s a roller-coaster.

“For those of you who want to be a journalist, I highly discourage it.”

We laugh, but the question lingers - why not? It’s tough, I learned; there’s pressure from every direction. Kulish wrote an article about how Obama couldn’t force the Europeans to do anything (in terms of the Euro Crisis). Amusingly enough, he received criticism from one side, the government, who didn’t appreciate the portrayal of Obama as not having power, but also from the complete opposite extreme, from people who demanded to know why on Earth Kulish was making excuses for Obama! Journalism is truly no simple feat.

“Europe is like a family. Germany’s the successful brother, who worked hard to get his law degree, let’s say. Other countries (PIG) are the lazy siblings who need help. On one hand, you’d like to help them, but on the other hand, you feel they should suffer and endure troubles just like you did, to get where you are.” To be honest, I knew close to nothing about the Euro Crisis, coming to Berlin. His analogies helped me connect with a global plight that I’d felt completely detached previously.

As a journalist in Berlin, there are deviating sentiments with East and West Berliners, according to Kulish. When you think about it, it makes absolute sense. If you’ve lived in a time where nobody could be trusted, and you’d fear for your life with every word you said in your own home, it’s understandable that you might not, even now, want people recording your name and your thoughts along with it. Imagine those who survived the Stasi era, and live in a reunified Germany today. Old habits die hard.

Watch his talk on "The German Problem and the birth of the Euro Crisis" here and here as well as his thoughts on 21st century journalism here.